Shadowing Practice: Freedom Through Thoughtlessness | Eckhart Tolle on The Space Beyond Thought (Part 3) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

C2
When we use thoughtlessness, it has a very positive meaning.
⏸ Paused
118 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
When we use thoughtlessness, it has a very positive meaning.
2
You've risen above thought.
3
The way it's used in normal culture is,
4
you've fallen below thought, and you don't know what you're doing.
5
This spaciousness, this inner spaciousness,
6
can be there at any time in your daily life.
7
You bring in until it becomes permanent in the background of your being so that no matter what you do,
8
and even while you're thinking,
9
there's still something you sense that's deeper than thinking.
10
So you're no longer lost in thinking.
11
In other words,
12
you are not the slave of the mind anymore.
13
You're not possessed by that entity anymore.
14
And then it functions beautifully.
15
Being here should help you to grow in,
16
as I sometimes call it,
17
presence power, so that this presence arises through you,
18
in you, so in your daily life,
19
you can suddenly enter a state of spacious awareness in between two actions, for example.
20
walking from here to there,
21
picking something up, looking out of the window.
22
Five seconds of alert, spacious awareness as you're looking at the clouds.
23
Instead of looking out of the window and having some kind of commentary about what you're looking at.
24
Not another rainy day.
25
You don't need that.
26
And even what beautiful sunshine,
27
you can go beyond that too and just spacious awareness.
28
Five minutes, five seconds looking out of the window.
29
getting dressed while you put on your shoes.
30
Just be the alert presence instead of projecting yourself mentally to some future moment.
31
And as I said before,
32
whenever you're waiting for something,
33
a wonderful opportunity for entering that, go into the body.
34
That can very easily take you there or pay attention to sense perceptions and feel as you pay attention to sense perceptions.
35
Feel the presence without which there would be no sense perceptions.
36
You can do that now.
37
So there's what you see and what you hear.
38
These are the two predominant sense perceptions here.
39
There's what you see and what you hear.
40
That makes up what I call it,
41
as you might know, the surface of the present moment.
42
All the sense perceptions of the surface of the present moment changes all the time.
43
and then there is the depths of the present moment that does not change,
44
the now that is forever here, totally timeless.
45
That is your presence, that space.
46
So you are what arises,
47
and more fundamentally you are the space in
48
which it arises ultimately they're not separate
49
but we don't know to go into then you are the space for whatever arises in that space of consciousness
50
So content, I call it.
51
There's content.
52
The content of your consciousness is sense perceptions.
53
Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching.
54
The content of your consciousness is thoughts.
55
The content of your consciousness is emotions.
56
Those are basically your life consists of,
57
put these into a pot,
58
sense perceptions, thoughts and emotions stir.
59
Add a little bit of cayenne pepper.
60
That's the drama.
61
And whatever else other spices that you want to add.
62
But basically, that is your life.
63
The life which changes, your life is different from your life and your life and your life.
64
They're all different lives in different worlds.
65
But basically, the basic ingredients of your life and whatever your life situation is are sense perceptions,
66
thoughts, and emotions.
67
Is there anything else on the surface?
68
No. Now, all of that is content.
69
All of that is form.
70
Now, for most people, that's all they know about their lives.
71
They only know their life and themselves as a mixture,
72
and every mixture is somehow different of sense perceptions, thoughts, and emotions.
73
and that's all there is as far as they know.
74
What they don't realize is without the light of awareness in which sense perceptions,
75
thoughts and emotions appear, they wouldn't even, they couldn't exist.
76
That is the space for them and that is the consciousness itself.
77
And that once you realize that dimension within yourself,
78
the content of your life is of secondary importance.
79
Before, it mattered so much what happened or didn't happen or fail to happen or success or failure that was.
80
And you were so miserable when things went wrong and
81
so elated when you fall in love of course it doesn't last
82
when you only know content you get more and more frustrated with life
83
and and then you realize there is a deeper dimension and that deeper dimension is who I am essentially.
84
That is the true I,
85
not the I that identifies with content forms that arise.
86
So that is truly the secret of life for humans and others,
87
I suppose, wherever they are,
88
on this planet and elsewhere in the galaxy and other galaxies,
89
because it cannot be that much different in other places in this galaxy or other galaxies.
90
There will be form and space, both externally.
91
You can look around, and you can always see stuff.
92
In a room, you see the furniture.
93
If you're outside, you see trees and so on.
94
Or if you look up into space at night,
95
you see stars, most of which are suns, distant suns.
96
And what else do you see?
97
Well, you don't see it,
98
but there's vast spaciousness there.
99
And even in this room,
100
you might not pay attention to it,
101
but this room could not exist if,
102
in addition to the furniture in this room
103
and the physical bodies in this room and all the other things in this room,
104
and the ceiling floor and the walls of this room,
105
if there were not space.
106
This space is the essence of this room.
107
You can't say the room.
108
If you describe the room,
109
usually people would write down,
110
give children a school exercise,
111
describe this room, ceiling, walls,
112
floor, what's in this room,
113
is that all there is?
114
Yes.
115
forgotten anything?
116
No. Except the most important thing, forgot.
117
It's the space.
118
Thank you.

Download App

AI scoring for every sentence you speak

Scan To Download
Scan To Download
Download on theApp Store
Get it onGoogle Play
TRENDING

Popular

Context & Background

The insights presented in Eckhart Tolle's video "Freedom Through Thoughtlessness" delve into the concept of achieving a state of awareness that transcends everyday thought. Tolle encourages listeners to embrace the space found beyond constant mental chatter, offering a path to deeper presence and mindfulness. His teachings emphasize that this sense of spaciousness can be cultivated in daily life, empowering individuals to disengage from the limitations of overthinking and truly experience the present moment. For English learners, this dialogue serves not only as a philosophical exploration but as a rich resource for improving language skills through reflective listening and practice.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “Enter a state of spacious awareness” – Encouraging mindfulness over distractions.
  • “Feel the presence” – A reminder to connect with one's experience in the here and now.
  • “You are the space in which it arises” – A profound statement on identity and consciousness.
  • “Pay attention to sense perceptions” – A practical tip for grounding oneself in the present.
  • “Alert presence instead of projecting” – An encouragement to stay focused and engaged in the moment.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

Improving your English pronunciation and comprehension can be made more effective through the shadowing technique. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to apply it while watching Eckhart Tolle’s video:

  1. First Viewing: Watch the video without focusing on the text. Listen to Tolle’s intonation, rhythm, and speech patterns. This sets a foundational understanding of his delivery.
  2. Practicing Shadowing: Use a shadowing app or simply pause the video at intervals. Repeat what Tolle says, trying to mimic his pace and pronunciation. This method helps improve English pronunciation and deepens your understanding of the nuances in spoken language.
  3. Focus on Key Phrases: Utilize the top phrases provided. Attempt to incorporate them into your speech during casual conversations, ensuring that you can connect these expressions with their meanings.
  4. Reflect and Record: After shadowing, record yourself replicating sections of the dialogue. Listen back to identify areas for improvement in your articulation and fluency.
  5. Daily Practice: Make it a habit to repeat the shadowing exercises daily. Short intervals of just five minutes can significantly enhance your speaking skills over time.

By integrating this shadowspeak practice into your routine, you can bridge language gaps and experience real growth in your journey to learn English with YouTube as a dynamic tool for language acquisition.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

☕ Buy us a coffee